Egyptian Timewave

Chapter 18

Anippe leads Abayomi into the temple through a side entrance, or at least one that is a bit more private. A few of the priests are moving about, completing various tasks. One of the ones closest to them is doing something with a smoking bowl that presumably contains incense. Anippe waits for him to finish his task before she calls out to him in a hushed voice.

"Kahotep. Kahotep, I must speak with you."

The priest straightens up and turns around, a small smile blooming on his face. He bows slightly at the two girls.

"My lady. What brings you here?"

Anippe inclines her head to Abayomi. "There are questions you may answer for us. A messenger from Amun-Ra Himself sent us to you."

Something sharpens in Kahotep's eyes and he nods. "Come with me, my lady . . . and guest."
Despite her uncertainty and desire to hang back a little, Abayomi forces herself to stay even with Anippe as they follow Kahotep deeper into the temple. He ushers them into a small room, private but for the open doorway. But it doesn't have a door at all, so it can't be helped. Kahotep inclines his head to a seating ledge. Anippe shakes her head.

"I'll stand."

"Of course, my lady. May I ask of what questions you had?"

Anippe looks to Abayomi. "Show him the scroll."

Abayomi reaches into her pocket for the scroll she had found and hands it to him, twisting her fingers together once her hands are free. Kahotep unrolls it and scans the text, a frown spreading across his face the farther down he goes. A muscle twitches in his cheek and he looks up at Abayomi with an analytical gleam in his shadowed gaze.

"Were you the one to find this?"

Abayomi nods. "I was, why?"

"Where?"

She blinks and answers a bit hesitantly. "In a tomb, why?" Anger flickers in his eyes and she quickly elaborates. "I wasn't stealing from a tomb. It was just at the entrance, and it looked too new to have originated there at the time of the burial."

His expression eases slightly. "And how would you know that?"

Abayomi twists her hands again, the skin reddening. "I may be from the future?"

Kahotep makes a choking sound. "Would you repeat that?"

She inhales shakily, taking the breath to compose herself. "I'm from the future. I think that scroll, perhaps combined with something else, sent me here."

"How far into the future?"

"Over three thousand years? It should be just before 1353 BC right now, based on who the Pharaoh is."

Kahotep opens his mouth, closes it, holds up a finger, and then opens his mouth again. "As much as I would like to, I'm not going to ask about the state of things in the future. What do you think may have aided that scroll in sending you to us?"

Abayomi reaches up to touch the collar necklace around her neck. "This, I believe. I was in the marketplace and an old woman kept pushing this at me, saying it would satisfy my ka. Eventually, I took it and now here I am."

Kahotep reaches toward her neck and then pauses. "May I?"

Abayomi blinks, pursing her lips. Then she reaches up to undo the fastening. However, instead of loosening it, her fingers slip right over the knot. Her frown deepens and she looks toward the other girl.

"Anippe, do you think you could get a better grasp on this? My fingers are slipping."

There is a moment of silence as Abayomi's two companions process that request, clearly taken aback by Abayomi's request for the princess to complete the task. But Anippe steps forward and slides her fingers over the knot, tugging gently on it. She clicks her tongue after a moment.

"Abayomi, it won't come undone. By my account it should be quite easy, I can see where to pull to loosen it, but the knot won't allow a grip."

Abayomi sighs in dismay and pulls away from the other girl, eyes flickering up to catch the priest's gaze on her. She frowns.

"What?"

"May I have a look at it? There is a possibility that I may be able to discern why neither of you can remove it."

Abayomi debates it for a minute, eventually determining that this is likely to be a permissible occasion. "Very well. But if you can, please refrain from touching me."

He nods and moves behind her, humming slightly. She feels his fingers brush over the tiny hairs on her neck, the movement sending a chill down her spine. He fumbles at the knot for a moment before stepping away.

"Well, I don't think the gods want that removed. The princess is right, that it should be able to be untied. But there is an intangible barrier of some kind preventing that. I would presume that the necklace is keeping you tied here and so the gods are making sure that it stays on until your task is done."

Abayomi tosses her hands up. "And how exactly would I know what that task is?"

Kahotep smiles. "And thus that leads us back to the scroll. But before we come back to that, why don't we figure out how that collar is tying you here? What quality does it have?"

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What do you think? Will they find anything useful? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out